Lawyer asserts case criminalizes homelessness

Curfew violations could be seen as criminalizing being homeless, said a defence lawyer as his client was jailed for 30 days in Sarnia court.

Dillon Dallas Heywood, 23, pleaded guilty Wednesday to violating a court-ordered curfew three times within a week.

To some extent the curfew violations criminalizes homelessness, said defence lawyer Nick Cake.

Heywood’s designated address had been homeless shelters in Sarnia . On Aug. 11, 15 and 17 Heywood was walking and biking during the early morning hours in violation of a curfew.

Cake did not raise homelessness as a defence to the charges but as a mitigating sentencing factor. Cake sought a 30-day sentence while the Crown called for 45 days.

Forty-five days was not unreasonable for three violations in a short period including the last one when going to a designated shelter was a release condition, said assistant Crown attorney Krista Leszczynski. Heywood had been in custody due to the previous violation. His criminal record includes eight court-order violations during the past two years.

Heywood told the court he has encountered problems at the shelters due to his addiction history.

For six years Heywood has been struggling with a methamphetamine addiction but during his August arrests he was carrying no drugs, said Cake.

“It’s a hard struggle addicted to meth. It’s hard to stay put,” said Heywood who described his worst enemy as being inside his head.

A person who is truly homeless does have a defence to the curfew violations but that did not appear to be Heywood’s situation, said Justice Mark Hornblower.

Heywood had served the equivalent of 30 days in pre-sentence custody and that sentence was appropriate as he committed no other offences while violating the curfew, said Hornblower.

Heywood remains on an existing probation order and told Hornblower as he was released from the prisoner’s box he was going directly to the probation office. His probation order deals with his addiction issues.